Rockridge Potholes: An Informal Survey

By the time her car had dropped bone jarringly into yet another pothole on a Rockridge street, Susan Shawl began to wonder just how bad the potholes were around her neighborhood. She had driven only a few blocks and was already concerned about the car’s suspension.

After returning home for paper, pencil and tape measure, she cruised nearby streets to record potholes and deteriorated paving. Her plan was to submit the list to the Public Works department for repairs.

In less than half-an-hour, she developed the following list of 28 potholes:

Claremont Avenue

Heading east from Clifton towards Hudson. Note: much of the traffic on this section is exiting Highway 24 and turning up Claremont Avenue. Many of the vehicles are trucks.

According to the website, another location to report public works issues is SeeClickFix, a Smartphone app that accepts non-emergency reports to Public Works on a variety of issues from graffiti to potholes to illegal dumping: http://www.seeclickfix.com/oakland.

The reply to many posts on this site for street damage was, sadly, something of a refrain: “The City of Oakland Public Works Agency has received this issue. Thank you, in advance, for your patience as we work through a backlog of pothole service requests. Unfortunately the City does not have enough funding to repave all streets in poor condition. With limited funding, our response to resurfacing requests is limited to minor pavement and pothole repairs only. Our Street Maintenance Department will assess your street and determine whether temporary measures might be appropriate. Please understand that this work may be limited to pothole or other minor repairs, and that we have many similar requests. We will do our best to respond in a timely manner. The backlog of streets in Oakland needing pavement currently is $435 million and growing.”

In spite of the city’s disclaimer that nothing can be done, reports should be made to record the extent of the need and drive the city to make repairs before someone takes costly legal action.